Dwell with Jesus

Thank you, gentlemen. Have you been blessed? Awesome.

In the late 2000s, Haruka Nishimatsu was appointed the CEO of Japan Airlines. And he inherited a company that had been fraught with bankruptcy, challenging to keep the company afloat, all kinds of issues. And he realized that he was being paid a lot of money, and if things did not change, the company was going to go under. And so he made a big change. He cut his salary by more than half, sometimes even making less than the very pilots that he oversaw.

He also realized that there was a big disconnect between the leadership to all the staff, to the flight attendants, to the maintenance workers. He foregoed a lot of what we would consider luxuries. Instead of wearing tailored suits, he bought his own suits. He brought his lunch to work. He ate in the very same cafeteria that all of his employees ate at.

He rode the bus instead of having a personal chauffeur. In fact, he realized that there was such a big disconnect that he got rid of the walls and the doors in his office so he could easily be approachable by everyone. In a time where on the other side of the world, here in America, big businesses were being bailed out by the government and CEOs taking millions of dollars in bonuses. At the end of the year, Haruku chose a different path. And although, unfortunately, in 2010 he resigned, he did not get to see the fruits of his labor pan out in his position.

He realized even in 2010, this is my fault. But in that time between 2008 and 2010, he laid the foundation for the company to turn around. As of a couple of years ago, it was worth over $11.3 billion. Now, if you continue to look at the history of this company, though it's had its challenges. Some would say Haruka was doomed from the very beginning.

But he did not look at it as failure. He made positive changes. Instead of taking the opportunity to take personal gain, he gave abundantly. He built a culture that will eventually grow and turn the company around.

In the Book of John, chapter one, we read earlier that in the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God. And the Word was God. We know the Word to be Jesus. And it's interesting as well.

In the beginning was the Word. We also read in the beginning, in Genesis 1, in the beginning, God, what created the heavens and the earth? One of the first things that God created was light. And if you see that, the light at one point, though, seemed to be snuffed out in a couple chapters later. But God still promises in Genesis 3:15, essentially alluding to the fact that the light will prevail.

Jesus will prevail. The light, verse 5 shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. I know I've preached on this passage within the last couple of years a couple times, and it still sometimes feels like that. The world can be chaotic and can feel very dark. But there is the promise of hope.

We continue to see in verse nine that the true light gives light to everything that was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. Jesus the Messiah was not recognized by his own people. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

Children born not of human descent, nor of human decision or husband's will, but born of God. In Jesus we find redemption, we find light, we find a path that we can move forward to give us hope. One of the most powerful statements that we can find in all of Scripture, the word, verse 14. The word became flesh, became real, and made his dwelling among us. God becomes real in human form and chooses to dwell among us.

His dwelling is an ode to Exodus 20:25, verse 8 and 9. To the Israelites, God said, then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all of its furnishings exactly like the patterns I will show you. Similarly, Jesus chose to dwell with Jesus people. What other God would choose to do that?

To take on the humble form of a man and yet was still fully God. To give the comforts of heaven, to come to a place born in a place of the world where it was not luxury, it was downright poverty.

To live amongst, to listen, to heal, to stand up for those who've been oppressed, and to restore and ultimately leading to the cross that we might have the possibility of life.

God came to earth and dwelt among us. Continuing on, we've seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. And as I reflect on this passage, I think that what better gift than God coming to be among God's people, to live among and to show the way. What better gift than that? Amen.

And as I've said earlier, though, why do we wait one day to think about all of what God has done to come to earth? I want to remind you, don't think about it. Just on Christmas Day, but every day. May this be a gift that never ends. The promise that of a life that you may be able to see and one day eventually physically dwell with God.

But until that day, I want to encourage you all continue to recognize that the Word became flesh, that God became real here on earth. God has always been real, but something that was physical and tangible. And though we do not necessarily get to shake the hand of God, we know that Jesus also promised later on in the Book of John that we have the advocate, that we have the Holy Spirit that we can rely on, that we can dwell in peace knowing that we have an advocate for us that we can go to in prayer. But as you continue to dwell and reflect on the life of Christ, I want you to dwell in the knowledge that you are a child of God and you are saved and redeemed by God. May you dwell and have courage that you can always go to the Lord in prayer, whatever you are facing.

And don't just dwell on the negative, but dwell in the goodness of God and thank God. May you dwell and reflect on the fact that every one of us are born sinners and that we're all on the same journey. For some the journey has been difficult. More than others, may we have grace and extend that grace and be compassionate to one another, but also to walk alongside them in the path. And may we all one day look forward when we will able to truly be able to dwell together with the Lord.

I cannot wait for that day.

So may we go forth in peace and dwell with the Lord. Lord, this is just a short thought, but the bountiful promises that you have blessed us with. Thank you Lord for your goodness. May we rest in the light that you have brought. May we take time daily to dwell with you.

In Jesus name, amen.